World Cup 2019, Australia Vs Bangladesh- Predicted Playing XI and Key Players for Australia

As the World Cup moves towards it's deciding stages Australia will take on a promising Bangladesh team in Match 26 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on June 20.

Australia hold the 2nd spot in the points table after having won 4 out of their 5 games. In their last match, Sri Lanka looked set to chase down 335 but a collapse brought an abrupt end to that. Australia would need to bowl much better against an inform Bangladesh batting line up.

Bangladesh have had a mixed start to the tournament. They have 2 wins, 2 losses and an abandoned match to occupy the 5th spot in the points table. Their star player Shakib Al Hasan has been in scintillating form with the bat and that has provided a lot of impetus for the side. He has scored the most runs in the World Cup so far with 384 runs from 5 matches. In Bangladesh's last match against the West Indies, Shakib 124*(99) and Liton Das 94*(69) made super contributions to chase down a mighty score of 322.

Considering the confidence that Bangladesh will have now, Australia would have to be at their best to win the game.

So, let's look at Australia's predicted playing 11 against Bangladesh.

Openers

David Warner, Aaron Finch

Despite being in form David Warner has been slightly conservative throughout the World Cup with a strike rate of 76.98. It remains to be seen as to what approach he will take against Bangladesh.

Australian skipper and opening batsman, Aaron Finch has had a brilliant World Cup so far. However, until the last game, Finch had failed to convert brilliant starts into three figures. He corrected that mistake with a pulverising 153 (132) against Sri Lanka.

Middle-Order

Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Alex Carey

The elegant left-hander Usman Khawaja will bat at No. 3. However, Khawaja's elegance has been in short supply in this World Cup as he has only scored 98 runs in 5 games.

On the other hand, star batsman Steve Smith has been in decent form with 243 runs in the World Cup so far. He has been pivotal in holding together Australia's batting line up whenever there has been a stutter.

Wicket-keeper Alex Carey has come up with useful cameos throughout the World Cup. In terms of keeping, Carey has been on and off in the tournament. He will look to be consistently safe against Bangladesh and beyond.

All-Rounders

Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell

Marcus Stoinis is expected to come back into the playing 11 in place of Shaun Marsh. Stoinis missed the last couple of games due to a side strain but he is said to be touch and go for the game against Bangladesh. Australia have missed Stoinis to a great extent owing to the balance he provides to the team.

The excitable Glenn Maxwell will be needed to provide some acceleration during the end overs and also a few overs of his part-time off spin. In the last match, he performed both of these roles to perfection.

Bowlers

Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile

Australia will be expected to pick 4 frontline fast bowlers yet again. Starc and Cummins feature at #2 and #4 respectively in the list for most wickets. However, considering that quite a few of their wickets have come during death overs, the quick bowlers will look to be more penetrative with the new ball. Kane Richardson is expected to keep his place after a good performance against Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Nathan Coulter-Nile is expected to come back into the 11 after being rested for the previous match.

Key Players

Aaron Finch- Skipper Aaron Finch has turned a corner in the past 4 months. Prior to the India tour in Feb-March, Finch was desperately looking for form as his technique started to desert him. Ever since the 3rd game in the ODI series against India, Finch has scored 914 runs in 13 games at an average of 76.16. In this World Cup, he has batted in a very aggressive and confident way. His positivity has also allowed David Warner to take time and settle down in various games. All the problems surrounding his technique also seem to be things of the past.

Steve Smith- Steve Smith will always be a key player for Australia given his undoubted quality. In this World Cup too, Smith has played a few key knocks for the Aussies. However, a big knock hasn't yet come and Smith will look to use the game against Bangladesh to correct that. In the last match, he scored a well made 73 off 59 balls. Smith will look to use that form and notch a big score against a friendly Bangladesh bowling attack.

Pat Cummins- Pat Cummins has arguably been Australia's best bowler in the World Cup so far. Mitchell Starc might have more wickets than Cummins but the latter has provided key wickets at regular intervals for Australia. He will be required to do more of the same against a Bangladesh batting line-up that includes a lot of quality batsmen.

Predicted Playing 11

Aaron Finch (C), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (WK), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson.

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